On line the video case study on Functional Economic Areas

A Functional Economic Area (FEA) is an organisation of territory as defined by de facto usages and flows – transport, labour market practices, living/working patterns, commerce etc. – rather than by traditional territorial units like counties, provinces, departments and so forth.
As a practice, FEAs are interesting, because they offer a response to a common problem, whereby local or regional realities are not adequately reflected by any existing territorial governance structure or institution. Working in terms of real Functional Economic Areas is practical; it can make development strategies and support for jobs and growth more effective. In particular, the practice has significant potential implications for how the European Regional Development Fund is implemented and thought about.
Enfield, a member of the JobTown URBACT network, has made working within its FEA – the London Stansted Cambridge Corridor – a key part of its own long-term regeneration strategy. This experience has stimulated a lot of interest within the network, and was first presented to the larger public in the first JobTown Thematic Publication.
Following that publication, JobTown’s Lead Expert chose to look at the practice in greater depth, producing this case study in the form of a series of short videos, each dealing with different aspects of a Functional Economic Area.

The videos are derived from interviews conducted via Skype with two elected officials (and a Head of Economic Development) from different parties and neighbouring municipalities.

Ian Goldring, JobTown Lead Expert, introduces the subject and outlines why it is relevant to those concerned with issues of territory, governance and local/regional development.

See them in Our Outputs section